How to Do SSH in EC2?

In the vast realm of cloud computing, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) stands as a prominent service offering by Amazon Web Services (AWS). To harness the power of EC2 instances, one must master the art of Secure Shell (SSH) access—a crucial skill for managing and interacting with virtual servers in the cloud. In this comprehensive guide, we will unravel the steps to seamlessly execute SSH in EC2, ensuring a secure and efficient connection.

1. Prerequisites:
   Before delving into the world of SSH on EC2, it's imperative to ensure you have the necessary prerequisites in place. This includes an active AWS account, an EC2 instance provisioned, and the key pair associated with the instance.

2. Locating Your Key Pair:
   Begin by navigating to the AWS Management Console and selecting the EC2 service. Find your EC2 instance and take note of the key pair associated with it. If you haven't created one, now is the time to generate a key pair and associate it with your instance.

3. Secure Your Private Key:
   Your private key is the gateway to your EC2 instance, so make sure to store it securely. Use proper file permissions (e.g., chmod 400) to restrict access to the key file.

4. Open a Terminal or Command Prompt:
   To initiate an SSH connection, open your terminal or command prompt on your local machine. If you're using Windows, you may want to leverage a tool like PuTTY for SSH connections.

5. SSH Command Structure:
   The basic structure of the SSH command is as follows:

   ssh -i path/to/private-key.pem ec2-user@public-ip-address
   

   Replace "path/to/private-key.pem" with the actual path to your private key file and "public-ip-address" with the public IP of your EC2 instance.

6. Example SSH Command:

   ssh -i ~/Downloads/my-key.pem ec2-user@54.123.456.789
   

7. Logging In:
   Upon executing the SSH command, you'll be prompted to confirm the connection. Type "yes" and press Enter. If the private key is secured and the details are correct, you should successfully log in to your EC2 instance.

8. Navigating Your EC2 Instance:
   Once logged in, you can navigate and perform various operations on your EC2 instance. Remember, the specific commands may vary based on your instance's operating system.

9. Logging Out:
   To log out of your EC2 instance, simply type:

   exit
   

10. Additional Tips:

    • For enhanced security, consider disabling password-based authentication on your EC2 instance.
    • Regularly update and rotate your SSH keys for optimal security.